DI’S BATTLE ROYALE
Her doubt over prince as king
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PRINCESS Diana secretly thought Prince Charles was “not fit” to be king, it emerged yesterday.
Her former butler Paul Burrell, 60, made the claims and suggested the Prince of Wales may be too old to take over from the Queen.
The royal, who is currently on a tour of Africa with wife Camilla, turns 70 next Wednesday.
Mr Burrell said: “I don’t think we will ever see King Charles and Queen Camilla on the throne of England.
“I know it’s his right, I know he’s heir to the throne, I know he has waited his whole life, but his own wife said: ‘My husband is not fit for the top job.’
“I don’t think he will get there. “I think the Queen will die aged 101, 102 or 103, maybe. Her mother was almost 102. Longevity is in the family.
“I think, for the sake of the monarchy – by the time Charles gets there, he’s going to be 80.”
Diana suggested her then-husband did not want to be on the throne and was not cut out for such a “suffocating” role in a telly interview in 1995.
Diana died in 1997, aged 36, with Charles marrying Camilla in 2005.
A poll earlier this year found just
9% of Brits chose the heir as among their favourite royals.
The Queen along with William and Harry were seen as more likeable.
Prince William is next in line for the role after Charles.
But Simon Lewis, the Queen’s communications secretary from 1998 to
2001, believes the Prince of Wales will be a good leader.
He said: “Charles will be the bestprepared monarch in history.”